WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, July 12, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The West Valley City Fire Department has released injury information on the firefighters injured Monday during a rescue operation for a construction worker who had fallen while on elevated scaffolding outside a building under construction.
First responders reached the woman, who had fallen one or more floors, and moved her to the interior, where a set of stairs gave way, causing the woman and her rescuers to fall through and drop another floor.
The fire department did not have information on the injuries to the female construction worker, but did release limited details on its own employees.
First responders injured in the incident were:
- A 36-year-old Captain/paramedic with 13 years in the department, treated for multiple broken bones and other injuries. This patient was flown to an area hospital, and remains hospitalized.
- A 40-year-old firefighter/paramedic, with nine years on the force. He was treated for “widespread and severe bruising and pain,” and has been released from the hospital, the WVCFD statement says.
- A 27-year-old firefighter with four years in the department, treated for a sprained ankle and released.
-
“As you can imagine, the firefighters who work with them are pretty upset,” Roxanne Vainuku, West Valley City PD’s public information officer, told Gephardt Daily on Monday, shortly after the accident.
Vainuku said neighboring agencies were covering some of the department’s calls while firefighters waited at the two hospitals where their injured co-workers were conveyed.
The city building inspector was on scene investigating the interior stairway’s collapse and OSHA has been notified, she said.
